Baby Owen

This is baby Owen...a full facial view, chubby cheeks and all! He is measuring about 2.5 weeks larger than we expected, so hopefully he will arrive sometime in early november instead of around thanksgiving.

This is his profile shot. he kept putting his hands over his face while we were trying to get a good picture of him. he is a busy thing! and is estimated at weighing 4 1/2 pounds already. of course, these things can be off either way, but he looked very healthy and active, which is all we care about. he has definitely taken over my midsection. he rarely stops for any length of time and really kicks it up a notch around 9 every night. let's hope that changes once he arrives......

we've had a busy few weeks since school began. we are constantly updating our house and cleaning and still unpacking a few things each week. Lee has the outside just about how he wants it and should have a master's degree in sprinkler systems by now. we had a new alarm system installed and have been sleeping soundly most nights since. we have baby owen's room just about complete as far as furniture and bedding goes. and thankfully the hand-me-downs keep coming in so his wardrobe is growing. and speaking of GROWING...this baby better be a good size boy because i am gaining and growing by leaps and bounds. as i type he is trying to either hibernate under my ribs or kick one of them out of place. maybe it is the mexican we had for lunch that he is excited about.

the girls' room is in the final stages of completion. they have new beds and bedding as of saturday, which makes rachel so excited! this is her first big girl bed all by herself. (they shared a twin and trundle for the past year). of course, i thought i was going to have to string them both up by toenails last night while we were trying to AGREE on bedding sets. they were both a little stubborn about it and kept choosing completely opposite and terribly clashing sets. finally, i bribed with a promise of a new pink rug and trash can if they would pick the same thing and be nice. i'm actually surprised that it worked, but i didn't look back. we checked out quickly and once home, they were thrilled! we also found a quilt for the trundle bed (which is now in owen's room) that complements the baby bedding. now our visitors will have a comfy place to land when they visit. lee has decided we need a flat screen in the corner of the baby's room so he can watch football while he's rocking the baby. ha ha. i say go for it...anything to give him incentive to get up during nightly feedings!!!! woo hoo!

Olivia loves her ballet/jazz class and looks like a natural with her long slim legs. she has gotten so tall. she also loves her class at school and i am so happy with her teacher thus far. she seems very organized and keeps olivia excited about learning. (this pic is with our buddies, LP and Serena, Jr.--ha ha)

Rachel on the other hand is not too happy about school. she tolerates it at best. some days she loves it but mostly just wants to be attached to me at all times. She's been reverting to some toddler behavoir which I feel is due to the growing belly and her impending dethroning as baby. The other day i wouldn't let her sit in my lap and she said "why, because of THAT?", pointing to my belly. Ha. She does, however, love her gymnastics. Although she doesn't enjoy the warm-up exercises at the beginning. those are not enough adventure for her.

well, there is not much else to tell. Rachel is fascinated with taking pictures of my belly...here are some recent shots. i keep telling myself that her low-to-the ground angle makes me look more plump. ha

backyard visitors

forgot to share this cool pic...notice the three sets of glowing yellow eyes? three huge raccoons were hanging out in our backyard trees. i thought it was neat to see and the girls were fascinated. just wanted to share.......

fun pics

we've had such a fun few days gearing up for gymnastics and ballet, buying all our leotards and shoes...and enjoying the first few days of school. we had a busy weekend but managed to save time to play with some favorite friends and have some wonderful family time. so today, after a fairly successful trip to the dentist for checkups, i took the girls to the pool to relax. we rarely slow down in our house and i decided we would just go and hang out together. it was so nice....only a few people were around and the girls basically had the whole pool to themselves. we all needed it. i think the baby even enjoyed it. i know my feet and legs were happy to float around in the coooooool water for a while.

olivia began her second full week of 1st grade today. she loves school and enjoyed doing her homework assignments tonight. we still are amazed at the carpool craziest in the mornings. why won't people just follow the rules? i mean, three car lengths really aren't going to make or break your day! (sorry, this has become a pet peeve of mine!!!) alas...we have school pictures tomorrow and will have to enlist daddy to fix the hair. i hate to admit it, but he does it much better than i do. maybe it's his ocd that helps. ha! i will not complain. he's good to have around! (especially when i blow up our garbage disposal, again!)

not much else to talk about today. just wanted to say that family is so important and even on the craziest, busiest days, we are so blessed to have these wonderful, wild girls in our home. they keep us on our toes. they are so ready for baby brother to get here. i'm sure they will have tons of fun with him.

love to all!

Recent Pics

First day of school.....


Olivia...excited to be at school.

baby brother's crib...so glad to have it up! one big item marked off my list. woo hoo

sisters...enemies one minute, co-conspirators the next.

girls, just chilling.......

backyard play...or posing...

Wow...it's so hot...someone turn on the air or give me some cooler weather! Although, the girls aren't affected by it at all.....

Rachel, our aspiring photographer, taking my profile shot...

Since this picture, I've been so puffy till I had to take my rings off...and barely got them off without losing my knuckle! Now I can breathe.

25 weeks and counting...

May...roughly 15 weeks...the belly begins...........

Now Rachel and I compare notes...

Well, I've been so busy with moving, work, summer, now gearing up for school, and here we are almost 26 weeks into pregnancy number 3 and we've hardly stopped long enough to really enjoy it. Baby Boy will be here before we know it! So far we have the crib, bedding, lots of hand-me-down clothes from friends, and about 3 packs of diapers. Ha. And we all know that will not be enough!

My belly is growing at a rapid pace...after such a slow start, I had been so proud of myself for only gaining a few pounds. But wow, what a difference a month makes....I surely made up for it all and now have packed on a few. Might as well blow it out with the last one, right?? Since school started this week I have made time in my schedule for a little workout in addition to my attempts at water aerobics each week. This baby is kicking up a storm and is very active, especially when I eat or when I lie down at night to rest. We are going for a sonogram in a few weeks and I can't wait to see him.

First Grade!

It's the routine of school that I believe keeps my household in order. And this week marked the beginning of that marvelous routine. Not to mention, school starting gives me the slightest hint of fall, even in the midst of 999% humidity! Olivia is loving her class, her new book bag, her teacher and all her new friends. Of course, the new book bag didn't actually make it to school until the second day. Rachel has a problem with getting up early...she absolutely doesn't like the new morning routine. Notice Olivia in the pictures is up and doing her hair like such a big girl. The only picture I could get of Rachel that first day was of her hands in front of her face! She has such personality.

Now that we have started school, we are also registered for Ballet and Jazz for Olivia and Gymnastics for Rach. This should be very interesting. I keep telling myself that even though it will be two extra nights a week of activities, it will still be less time consuming than soccer! We'll see how they like their respective classes. I'm sure there will be many funny stories to tell over the next few months! I will keep you posted........